Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton has made the rounds the past few weeks bashing his ex-boss to the corporate press. On Monday, he suggested that he may launch a presidential bid to stop Trump from returning to the Oval Office.
Bolton appeared on NBC’s streaming show “Meet the Press” to discuss his tweet Saturday calling for conservatives to oppose Trump’s 2024 bid.
Bolton called Trump’s remark “an existential threat to the republic itself.” He then rejected Trump’s attempted clarification:
“Donald Trump, if he were to take the oath of office again, God forbid, would either be lying about preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution, or maybe he wouldn’t say it at all.”
“You can’t have this kind of approach. It’s not something one can disagree with. This is foundational to the republic.”
Bolton then called on prospective 2024 contenders to issue “Shermanesque” statements denouncing Trump’s remarks. If not, he would seriously consider a presidential bid:
“And honestly, if they don’t, there’s one thing that would get me to get into the presidential race, which I looked at in prior elections, it would be to make it clear to the people of this country that Donald Trump is unacceptable as the Republican nominee.”
Bolton’s comments on Trump are the epitome of hypocrisy and fraudulence. He worked for the former president for a year and a half before Trump got tired of his interventionist nonsense and fired him. Bolton also happily advocated for Trump’s America First foreign policy without reservation.
Bolton refused to testify during Trump’s first impeachment trial and even threatened to sue if he was subpoenaed. If Bolton thought Trump was a threat to America, why not testify and warn the nation?
The truth is Bolton had no major personal issues with Trump despite his firing until he saw an opportunity to profit financially. He received a $2 million advance for his book “The Room Where It Happened” and millions more in royalties. Almost like he wanted to get terminated in the first place.
Bolton also has a great deal of nerve to talk about reverence for the United States Constitution. This is a man who has advocated for bombing Iran and North Korea without congressional approval. Such moves would likely lead to a nuclear war resulting in millions of deaths.
He even admitted to helping plan coup d’états back in July. In an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, he said this in response to a question whether Trump’s involvement in the January 6th Capitol Hill riot amounted to an attempt to overthrow the government:
“As somebody who has helped plan coups d’etat — not here but, you know, other places — it takes a lot of work, and that’s not what Trump did.”
One of Trump’s best moves in office was firing Bolton before he could do any damage. God help our nation if Bolton ever received the nuclear codes.
Fortunately, the GOP base has no use for grifters and anti-Trumpers like Bolton. Should he embark on a suicidal run for president, the only fun will be whether he can exceed fellow war hawk Lindsey Graham’s 0% support back in 2016.